(The following article was posted on the San Jose Mercury News website on March 17.)
SOLEDAD, Calif. — A train derailment outside of Soledad this morning has closed one of the main rail arteries between Northern and Southern California for the day, affecting freight and passenger service.
There were no injuries when the last four cars of the 52-car freight train carrying rock derailed five miles south of Soledad at approximately 7:15 a.m., according to Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Mark Davis.
An Amtrak spokeswoman said that passengers traveling today on the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Los Angeles would be bused around the damaged tracks.
Passengers traveling north from Los Angeles will be bused between San Luis Obispo and Oakland. Those traveling south will likely have the choice of either being bused or transferring to an Amtrak train that travels on different tracks through the Central Valley to Southern California, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham.
“We’re basically going to bus around it,” Graham said.
A small section of track was damaged in the derailment and needs to be replaced. The track will remain closed for most of the day while crews make repairs.
“The track will require about 880 feet to be replaced,” Davis said. “I would imagine it would be sometime late tonight or early tomorrow when it re-opens.”